Win the Day
Cancer comes at you fast! One day, you are living your normal life with all the attendant schedules, conflicts and daily requirements of work and play. The next day, and without warning, Cancer (that’s with a big “C”) bullies its way in and invades every nook and cranny of that normal schedule we call life.
Along with that disruptive diagnosis comes an overwhelming whirlwind of new doctors, appointments, and tests, invasively poking into your body, all to put together a team that will develop a course of treatment suitable to battle your specific cancer. Modesty becomes a memory, and you gear up to go to war.
The dedicated experts at all levels of Both Piedmont and Northside Hospitals are the exact army you need to go to war with cancer. They are consummate professionals. Both of those organizations have been exemplary in their levels of respect and kindness toward me as a patient. Our community is well served by having them so near to us!
My wife Kay shared the concept of “Win the Day” with me, and I liked it so much that I immediately modified it and made it my own. Briefly stated, I cannot win yesterday’s battles, they only exist in the past. I cannot today win all the future battles that consist of my ordinary life plus daily treatments of Chemo and Radiation for an unknowable time. The battle I must win is the one in front of me, and that is my goal. Win the day, this day!
Cindy DeMaio, my much beloved and incredibly gifted daughter, surprised me by using my “Win the Day” motto to design a beautiful tee shirt. That design appears to have become quite popular, and many friends and associates have lifted my spirits by sending pics of them wearing the shirts or holding up “Win the Day” signs (including the entire Rotary Club of Jasper) in support.
I continue to take chemo and radiation treatments Monday through Friday, five days a week. Radiation treatments are scheduled to end after 28 treatment days. As of today, I have 8 more radiation treatments remaining. Chemo will continue for several months after radiation is done, with eventual surgery sometime in early 2024.
I do not have adequate words to express to all of you what the gift of your support has meant to our family. Your words, your thoughtful support and your prayers will never be forgotten. We are blessed to live among such loving people in this wonderful community we call home! Thank you all. With your continued support, WE will “Win the Day!”.